Basis For Comparison
by purewanderlust
Summary: After beating the Labyrinth, Sarah feels as if something is missing in her life. She spirals deeper and deeper into depression until her parents have no choice but to put her in an asylum. That's hardly fair! But, then again, who says life is fair? JS
1. Chapter One

**A/N: This is my first ever Labyrinth fic, though I've been an avid part of the fandom since I was about five years old. . Anyway, I would really appreciate reviews--especially as Jareth is so hard to keep in character. So now, without further ado…**

**Disclaimer: I hate to confess it, but I don't own the Goblin King or any of his various minions or love interests. I don't even own the DVD. But life isn't fair. Don't sue me.**

Sarah sat at her vanity, brushing her long, glossy hair back into a ponytail with absolutely no spark of interest in her eyes.

"Sarah Michelle Williams! Hurry up or we'll be late for the appointment!" her step-mother's voice floated up the stairs.

"Because I totally agreed to doing this." Sarah muttered.

"Honey?" her dad's voice now, directly outside her bedroom door. "Are you okay?" Sarah slammed her brush down on the vanity and scowled at her reflection.

"Oh, sure, Dad!" she snapped sarcastically. "I mean, what nearly-sixteen year-old isn't okay with being carted off to a psycho-doctor?!" She heard her dad mumble something incoherent in reply and shuffle away from the door. Sarah shrugged and started to brush her hair again.

This had all started a few months after she had beaten the Labyrinth and saved Toby. At first, everything had been fine. Hoggle and Didymus and Ludo had visited her all the time and she was happy. She and her step-mother had even started getting along to some extent and Sarah's relationship to her brother had become amazingly strong.

But after a while, Sarah started to feel like she was missing something. Sure, her friends were there, but it seemed like there was something important that she had left behind. Never one to enjoy reality to begin with, she despised it now. She wanted to go back to the Labyrinth--to the other world and she called her friends more often and was less careful.

Her father and step-mother had started hearing her one-sided conversations with Hoggle. Of course, they never heard Hoggle, so they thought she was talking to herself. But after a while, even these conversations stopped. The more gloomy and depressed Sarah became, the less she called on her friends and the more alone she felt. Her grades started dropping, she and her step-mother had started fighting again and Sarah was found, once, standing outside in the middle of the night, in the rain. Needless to say, her parents were worried. They thought it was a phase though, and probably would have let it go.

But everything had really come apart when Sarah had come home from school one day and found Karen in her room, filling a box with her stuff.

"_What are you doing?!" Sarah cried, looking at the huge box in the middle of her bedroom floor._

"_Just a little spring cleaning." answered Karen cheerfully. "I though I'd help you out by getting rid of some of the stuff you never use. We're going to have a yard sale."_

"_You have no idea what I want to keep!" Sarah exclaimed angrily._

"_Why bother keeping things that you never use?" Karen wondered, reaching out and picking something else up, her back to Sarah, so the dark haired girl couldn't see what it was. After a moment of looking at it, she tossed it carelessly over her shoulder into the box._

_Sarah realized what it was as it hit the side of the box and a flash of blonde hair confirmed her suspicions. It was the doll of the Goblin King that her mother had given her. Sarah went ballistic._

"_Get out of my room! GET OUT!" she screamed._

"_What has come over you, Sarah?" Karen demanded._

"_Get the hell out!" Sarah shoved over the cardboard box and everything spilled out. "I hate you! Get out NOW!"_

_Karen's eyes, wide with shock and hurt were the last Sarah saw of her before she vanished out of the room, pulling the door shut behind her._

She had sat on the floor, by the mess for what seemed like hours, clutching the Goblin King doll to her chest and sobbing. When she had finally calmed down, she left her bedroom to get a drink of water, still carrying the doll. At the bottom of the stairs, she had seen her father and step-mother sitting at the table, talking about her. She had crept closer, trying to hear and, at the same time, not be heard herself.

"_I just don't know what to do." Karen was saying. "This has been going on for months and I'm worried."_

"_I know." her father said quietly. "I am too."_

"_Then what do you think, should we take her to Dr. Ako?" probed Karen._

_He sighed and ran a hand over his face. "I suppose that's the only thing we can do."_

Sarah had slipped back upstairs at that point; she hadn't wanted to hear anymore. They thought she was crazy and wanted to take her to a psychiatrist! That was fine. She could prove to any doctor that she wasn't crazy.

"Sarah." her father's voice interrupted her musings. "You need to get down her this instant!"

"I'm coming!" Sarah yelled back rudely. She looked up at her mirror to check her hair one last time and felt an electric current course through her body. Just past her shoulder's reflection was a man, tall with dark, intense eyes and blonde hair. Sarah screamed and threw her brush at the mirror. The glass shattered and she was still screaming. The pounding footsteps on the stairs only vaguely registered in her mind before the bedroom door opened.

"Sarah! My God what's wrong?" her father's concerned face floated into her line of sight. "Stop screaming!"

Her mouth clamped shut; she hadn't realized that she was still screaming.

"What happened?" Karen was behind her father, surveying the destroyed mirror and the panicked teenager with a horrified look on her face.

Sarah's heart was pounding in her ears and she found she couldn't speak. After a couple gulps of breath, she was only able to get one word out before she fainted.

"Goblin."

**A/N: I'm not sure I like the ending of this chapter too much, but it was necessary for what happens next. Please R&R!!**


	2. Chapter Two

**A/N: I'm going to try to put up a new chapter every week, but, since I was home sick anyway, I figured I might as well get the second chapter out of the way. So here it is, please R&R!!**

**Disclaimer: I wish I owned _Labyrinth_…well, that didn't work. No suing!**

Sarah sat in an uncomfortable plastic chair, just outside the psychiatrist's office, her legs pulled up to her chest, eyes averted from the full-length mirror on the opposite wall. After the family had talked to the doctor together, they had sent her out of the room so the adults could talk without her overhearing, but the door hadn't been pull shut properly, so Sarah was listening to everything.

"Perhaps Sarah is just under some stress at the moment." suggested Dr. Ako gently. "Does she have trouble with bullies at school?"

"Stress? She smashed her bedroom mirror just this morning because she thought she saw a _goblin_ in it!!" her stepmother exclaimed.

"Karen…" Sarah's father attempted to interject. But his wife was far from finished.

"Robert, you've heard her talking to herself up there at all hours of the night just as many times as I have." Karen retorted. "She needs to at least be on medication." Sarah rolled her eyes but continued listening.

"Have you considered a group home?" the doctor's quiet question brought a thick silence on the room and Sarah sat up straighter, straining to hear what was being said. Surely, surely not...

"A…group home?" her father choked out.

"Well, we need to do something." Karen said. "She's going to become a danger to Toby if she keeps this up."

Sarah stiffened, her cheeks flushing with anger. She would _never_ hurt Toby! How could Karen be so idiotic?

"You're telling me that the only choices I have are medication or a group home?" said Robert, his voice thick with irritation.

"Maybe she just needs some time away from you." continued Dr. Ako. "Since I haven't witnessed any of these--"

"Panic attacks?" suggested Karen. Sarah tried to imagine the look on her stepmother face.

"There's not much more that I can do." the doctor concluded.

"I don't like either of these choices." protested Sarah's father.

"Well, the only other option would be…" Ako was still speaking, but Sarah was no longer eavesdropping.

She had caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror on the opposite wall and, draped casually on the back of her chair was none other than the Goblin King himself.

Sarah bit back a cry and slowly turned to look. But there was no one there. She reached up with her hand and waved it through the air behind her, wondering if he had the power to turn invisible. Nothing.

Nonetheless, he continued to observe her, through mismatched gems, a smirk playing on his thin lips. Sarah scowled at the image, but he seemed unaffected.

"Go away." she snapped. The reflection made no reply. "You have no power over me." He continued to sneer at her, without speaking. For some, unexplainable reason, this, coupled with the rest of her current situation infuriated Sarah and suddenly she was on her feet, and shouting.

"Leave me alone!" she cried. "You have no power over me! You have…no…power over…me." The face had vanished and Sarah sank to the floor and cradled her head in her hands. She wasn't going crazy, she didn't imagine it. Sarah chanted the words over and over in her mind, like a mantra that would be true if she only said it enough.

A gentle touch on her shoulder informed her that she was no longer alone. Now, surely, they all thought she was insane. Damn. She had just blown her one chance at getting them to believe she was fine. Why had his presence (whether real or imagined) elicited such a response from her? Why?

"Sarah." the calm voice of Dr. Ako made her look up. The psychiatrist was watching her with sympathy and worry in her eyes. Sarah immediately stood up and straightened her shirt.

"Yes?" Dr. Ako put a comforting hand on her arm.

"Sarah, we think it would be a good idea if you stayed here for a while."

Sarah flinched away from her as if she had been burned. "But I'm not crazy!" she argued. "This is not fa--" She stopped mid-sentence. _I wonder what your basis for comparison is? _The words echoed in her mind and she suddenly knew, no matter what she did or said, they were going to keep her here. Life was unfair.

And there was nothing she could do about it.

**A/N: Shorter, chapter, but I promise the next one will be here soon. And, hopefully, we'll get to see a little bit more of Jareth!! Until then, read and review!!**


	3. Chapter Three

**A/N: Okay, I lied again. I said I was going to update weekly. Here's the thing; I'm not very good at doing things on a schedule, so I've decided just to update whenever I get a chapter done. That said, here's chapter three.**

**Disclaimer: I figured out the problem. ::ahem:: I wish the Goblin King would give me the rights to his movie…right now! …Dang. Still don't own it.**

The room was completely whitewashed. It had four walls, all of which were white. A door set in one of the walls was also white. The ceiling and floor were white and the only two pieces of furniture in the room were a colorless dresser in the corner and a bed pushed up against the wall.

Sarah hated it. As the door closed and the lock clicked behind her, she felt despair clouding her chest. This place was a prison! The only window was tiny and there were no mirrors. After the two incidents Sarah had had with mirrors, all of the mirrors had been removed from her new home before she was brought in.

With a sad sigh, Sarah plopped down on the bed and started picking at the tattered quilt, seemly oblivious to the camera near the ceiling. The silence was piercing. She _had _to get out of here. If she wasn't crazy already, (which was possible) she would be before long.

"Hoggle?" she whispered, keeping her eyes focused nonchalantly on the blanket. "I--I need you."

There was no answer. But of course not, she had no mirror to call him with. Sarah had never been so utterly alone. Finally, the reality of her situation sank in and Sarah curled up on the bed, with her face buried in the pillow and began to cry.

* * *

Far away, in the Underground, the Goblin King was handling another human. Sitting in his throne, his legs draped over the arm, Jareth disinterestedly twisted a crystal between his gloved fingers, turning it this way and that. He completely ignored the teenaged boy standing before him.

"Uh…Your--Your Majesty?" the boy stammered. Slowly the Goblin King raised his mismatched eyes to the boy. Unblinkingly, he stared at the child, waiting for him to continue.

_Probably about eighteen years. _Mused Jareth. _Much too old to be wishing a sibling away for some ridiculous, minor annoyance._

"Please." The boy pled again. "I made it through the maze, just let me have my sister back!" His voice had risen, desperately, as he watched the King's face and saw no pity there.

"The labyrinth took you fourteen hours." corrected the Goblin King in a bored tone. "You were allotted thirteen. You failed." He returned his gaze to the crystal in his hands. Back and forth he tossed it, from left to right, the light catching on it, but the picture within always just out of reach.

But the teen wasn't finished yet. "What am I supposed to tell my parents when they ask where Sara is?"

The crystal slipped from his fingers and shattered on the stone floor.

Jareth's eyes flashed and narrowed and he rose, his great height imposing. The poor boy cowered, his fear evident.

"You make the foolish mistake of believing that I care." He answered, his voice suddenly low and dangerous.

"But--" the boy protested.

Before he could say another word, the Goblin King waved his hand and the teen vanished.

Alone in his Throne Room, Jareth allowed a sigh to escape his lips as he glared down at the broken mess at his feet. _Sarah_. How long had it been since she had defeated him? A day? A week? In her time, it must have been months. Whatever the length, he remembered well and doubted he would ever forget. Her long, dark hair and cold green eyes--

As if in answer to his thoughts, her voice echoed through his head, distant and hollow as if coming from a radio on a bad frequency. "_Hoggle?_ _I--I need you."_

Startled, Jareth jerked his head around, his eyes darting about. It vaguely occurred to him how fortunate it was that none of his subjects were there to witness such behavior. But why was he hearing Sarah? It had been some time since she had called her friends and he often wondered why. The temptation to fly to the Aboveground and see was quite strong, but Jareth had sworn that he would never seek her out again, no matter how he wished it.

Instead, he threw himself back into his chair, pressing his long fingertips to his temples and trying very hard not to think.

**A/N: Okay, next chapter to be up as soon as I have time. ;) Please, R&R!! Danke!**


	4. Chapter Four

**Disclaimer: I have no power over the events of the movie _Labyrinth. _I do, however, have power over the characters I made up and the storyline of this fanfic. Yay.**

**A/N: I had some trouble uploading, it wouldn't let me until today, so, sorry it's late!!**

By the end of the first week, Sarah had the hospital's routine committed to memory.

Sometime around 8 am (an estimate, on her part, because there was no clock in her room) the lights in her room came on automatically and a gravelly voice informed her that her breakfast was on its way, via intercom.

Shortly after that, a smiling nurse in salmon-colored scrubs brought her a plastic tray holding a carton of milk and some disgusting goop that they tried to pass off as food. Sarah picked at it for a while before the nurse returned and bore the barely-touched plate away.

About an hour later, the voice returned to tell her that it was time for her to shower. A large, burly orderly led her down the dim hallway to the showers. He set a timer for eight minutes and warned her that if she didn't come out within ten minutes, he would have to come in and check on her. He put the timer on the sink and left her to rush through a lukewarm shower with generic shampoo and a paper-thin piece of soap.

Back in her white room, Sarah sat alone in silence until somewhere around noon (where were the clocks in this place?) when she was taken to a small cafeteria for a meal that rivaled her first in repulsiveness. Although she sat alone, Sarah was thankful for the time around the other patients. Most of the people in the lunchroom were there visiting family or suffering from something less serious, like generalized anxiety disorder or bipolar, so they avoided her. She heard whispers that she was a paranoid schizophrenic--and the only one allowed to eat in the public lunchroom. But she ignored their stares and pretended she was at school. She had never talked to people at school either. Nonetheless, even involuntary company made her feel more human.

Lunch was the last time she was let out of her room, excepting for bathroom breaks, for the rest of the day. An appropriate number of hours later, dinner was brought to her--still unappetizing, but by a different, less cheery nurse. Sarah would move the food around on her plate, but only eat a few bites before giving up on the meal.

Finally, somewhere around 11pm, her lights unceremoniously flipped off, leaving Sarah in darkness, except for the small square of silver moonlight shining on her floor through the window.

This was the worst part of her day. Alone in the shadowy room, Sarah wished for sleep. But sleep wouldn't come. Despite the ever-growing purple bruise like circles under her eyes, Sarah was afraid to sleep. If she slept, she would dream and if she dreamt, _he_ would almost certainly be there. It was a frightening idea, that he could invade her subconscious. Sarah had been down that road before and she didn't like it.

So she spent her nights perched on the edge of her bed, staring out the window or counting the ceiling tiles. It was more like she couldn't sleep, rather than she opted not to. The blinking red light up by the ceiling, in the corner reminded her that she was being watched, but Sarah hardly cared. They already thought she was crazy, what did it matter if she added insomnia to the bill?

Sarah never felt more alone that during those hours. She desperately missed the late-night conversations she had had with Hoggle--talks she had taken for granted. Apparently she had learned nothing from the Labyrinth! Nonetheless, sometimes, she still tried to call him. He never came; he couldn't hear her without a mirror.

After four days of this routine and four sleepless nights, Sarah was sure she was loosing her mind. How could someone be expected to live like this and keep their sanity?

However, after her rushed shower, instead of being carted off directly back to her room, Sarah was informed that she had visitors. The visitors turned out to be her father and Toby (though Karen had suddenly become rather busy with work.) who were planning to spend the entire day with her. Never before had Sarah been so happy to see them and she took Toby from her father's arms and hugged him fiercely as soon as she got the chance.

"Oh, it's so good to see you!" she exclaimed.

"My Sawa!" announced Toby, snuggling close to his big sister. Sarah and her father both laughed, a sound that Sarah hadn't heard in what seemed like ages. They fell silent and Sarah decided to present her case immediately.

"Dad, can you take me home now?" she asked quietly.

Robert didn't answer, but the look in his eyes told her that the doctors had filled him in on her late-night vigils and that there was no way she could convince him to get her away from this hell-hole.

"Never mind." she said quickly. "Let's just enjoy the day." If she was going to have to stay here longer, she didn't want their visit cut short because everyone felt awkward.

They spent the entire day together, eating lunch and dinner out in the courtyard. Sarah was beginning to feel somewhat sane again and was afraid she would loose that when they left. But eventually, they had to.

"I love you, honey." her dad told her, giving her a swift kiss on the forehead. "I promise, we will come back next weekend." He hesitated. "Be good, Sarah."

"I will." she answered a little half-heartedly. " See you next week." She turned and started back into the building, but her father stopped her.

"Oh, wait! I brought you something." He produced her sketchbook, along with some pencils and a plastic sharpener. "For when you can't sleep." he explained.

"Thanks, Dad." Sarah took it, pleased. She didn't have the heart to tell him that there were no controllable lights in her room. Besides, she wanted it. She flipped through a few pages, landing on a rather good drawing she had done recently. It was a white barn owl-- _him_. Sarah stared at it as if in a trance for long moment in silence.

"Jare." Sarah's head jerked up. Toby was pointing at her sketch, his pride obvious. "Jare." he repeated with certainty, waiting for Sarah's approval.

"What is he talking about, Sarah?" asked her father asked. Sarah swallowed, her throat suddenly feeling very dry.

"I have no idea." she lied. Robert looked at her pale face and alarmed eyes, unconvinced, but he didn't press the issue.

"Well, we have to get going." he said seriously. "Take care, Sarah." She nodded, trying to rearrange her expression to wipe the worry from his eyes.

"Bye bye, Sawa." Toby waved his small hand and beamed at her. She returned the gesture and watched them walk to the parking lot before a nurse came and led her back to her room.

Sarah tossed the sketchbook onto the bed and started pacing the room. How had Toby known? Had the Goblin King come back? Was he trying to take Toby again? How could he? She had defeated him, damn it! He wasn't supposed to have any power over her, or her brother.

The lights shut off and Sarah stopped pacing and flung herself onto the bed. She opened the sketchbook to the picture of the owl and stared at it for a long time. If he hurt Toby in anyway, one way or another, she would kill him!

**A/N: I realize the ending seemed a bit abrupt and I apologize. This chapter kind of flows into the next one, which, by the way, will be a Jareth chapter, so that is why the ending is so sudden. Please review and I'll see ya soon!**


	5. Chapter Five

**Disclaimer: As previously stated, I am obviously not Jim Henson or George Lucas or any of those people who created this movie, therefore I own nothing but the computer I am typing on.**

**A/N:So sorry for the late late update. I got distracted by the real world and doscovered that Jareth is harder to write than I thought.**

The Goblin King sat in the highest window of his castle, overlooking the Goblin City and, beyond that, the Labyrinth. From his perch, he could see the horizon in the distance, as well as all of the winding maze between here and there. Down below, in the city, he watched goblins going about their daily tasks with mind-numbing regularity.

Even that which he couldn't see physically, he could use his powers to watch and regulate. His crystals showed him almost everything.

But there was one thing his crystals did not, would not show him...

Jareth withdrew a crystal from the folds of his cloak and flipped it back and forth, over the top of his hand. He remembered as if only moments had passed rather than months. _If you turn it this way, it will show you your dreams..._

"Sarah." he breathed, bringing the crystal close to his face. The clear surface clouded over instantly with thick white smoke. Jareth cursed and threw it to the floor. Instead of breaking, it bounced lightly and rolled away, coming to a stop at the feet of the dwarf who had just appeared in the doorway of the throne room.

"What do you want Higgles?" Jareth grumbled irritably.

"Hoggle."

"Yes, whatever. Why are you here?"

Hoggle looked rather confused. "Ya...ya sent fer me, yer majesty."

"Ah yes." Jareth suddenly remembered and he looked at the dwarf with more interest.

Until now, Jareth had never revealed to any of his subjects the intensity of his connection to Sarah. Her trip to the Labyrinth had changed her completely, given her a magic of her own. But the connection between her and the Goblin King made it so that he could hear her anytime she called for any creature from his kingdom. Jareth didn't particularly want to tell the dwarf this, but he was counting on his slow intellect to hide the fact.

"Hedgewart." he began.

"Hoggle, yer majesty."

Jareth waved his hand impatiently. "Do you keep a regular contact with, ah, certain persons in the Aboveground?"

Hoggle seemed to understand. "I ain't been up there in a while." he admitted.

"Why is that?" the Goblin King asked sharply.

"I can't travel there by meself." Hoggle explained. "I have ta be called."

"I know that!" Jareth snapped. "But why have you been ignoring her calls?"

Hoggle looked perplexed. "Sarah ain't called me..."

Jareth leapt to his feet. "Are you contridicting me, dwarf?" he demanded.

"No, no, all I meant was I ain't heard her!"

"Well I have." Jareth told him, throwing caution to the winds.

Hoggle was stunned. "She called _you_?"

"No, you fool! I hear her calling you!" he paced, his speech becoming more agitated. He stopped abruptly and turned to the tiny creature. "I want you to go see her.To make sure she is safe."

"But I can't--"

"I realize your magic is too weak to take you." Jareth said coldly. "I will send you." he paused. "But Sarah must no nothing of my interference, is that clear?"

Hoggle nodded weakly.

"Very well." Jareth settled on his throne, observing the dwarf. "You may go and see your friend, but report back to me when you return." Another crystal materialized in his gloved hand and he tossed it lightly at Hoggle. It burst like a bubble, inches from the dwarf's face. He vanished and Jareth sat, staring at the place where he had stood.

It was foolish of him to get so involved with a mortal girl. Hoggle would return, say Sarah was happy and safe with her human friends and that would be the end of it. Jareth had already decided that he needed to leave well enough alone. Sarah had been perfectly clear about her feelings, so his would just have to change. But he knew very well that they wouldn't.

For once a fae falls in love, he is in love...forever.

**A/N: Yet another chapter complete. The next one is Sarah so it should be easier and faster to write. Please R&R!**


	6. Chapter Six

**A/N: Look! I'm inspired! I'm writing again! Yay!**

**Disclaimer:**** I do, in fact, lay claim to my Jareth fantasies. Unfortunately, that is about all I can claim. Don't sue me.**

Sarah fidgeted nervously in her seat, an overstuffed, paisley-print armchair across the desk from her psychiatrist. Dr. Ako watched her intently over red square-framed glasses. Then she cleared her throat and began her speech. Sarah was sure she had it down pat by now.

"Now Sarah, dear, how are you?" she smiled, showing all of her teeth.

Sarah shrugged. It was the same routine, one hour, once a week. As long as she didn't talk, the woman usually let her leave early. Even though Sarah hated being confined in her room, anything was better than being trapped with this needling doctor.

"We are going to try something new today, Sarah, how would you like that?" Dr. Ako eyed her in a way she had seen Karen look at the wives of her father's coworkers; polite disapproval. Sarah was mildly surprised that the psychiatrist intended to deviate from her usual custom, but she was determined not to show it.

"Whatever."

"Okay, Sarah, here's what we are going to do," she continued, straightening her glasses as she spoke. "We are going to find out where your happy place is."

"Excuse me?" despite her intentions to keep her voice neutral, Sarah felt the disbelief seeping through.

"This is a place in your imagination" the psychiatrist plowed ahead, as if she hadn't heard, "where you are absolutely happy. In this place, you feel secure, protected, loved, and warm. In other words, _happy_. Close your eyes, if you please."

Sarah decided to humor her and closed her green eyes. She had learned long ago that cooperation was the best way to escape.

"Remember the criteria and try to think of a place like this. Please tell me about it, Sarah."

As much as she hated to think of it, an image started to piece together, unconsciously, in her mind. Soft music, sparkling ball gowns, dim white light, the feeling of floating…

"Usually, someone's happy place depends on the people who are there. Can you tell me about the people in this place?"

Sarah shook her head, but the images kept flowing. A dance partner, tall and lean, in a glittering blue jacket. Large, strong hands, one at her waist, the other entwined with her own, his blonde hair shimmering…

"Does your dance partner have a name, Sarah?"

Sarah's eyes snapped open. Had she been speaking aloud? Why was she even thinking about that?

"Sarah?" the doctor peered at her, false concern in her voice. "Are you alright?"

"I want to go now." She stood abruptly, shoving the chair back several inches.

"But we still have fifteen minutes…"

Sarah ignored her and strode out the door. The orderly that was supposed to take her back to her room wasn't back yet, so she dropped into the chair outside the office and held her head between her hands. She knew Dr. Ako wouldn't bother following her.

Why had she done that? She hadn't even meant to come up with any happy place, much less that ballroom. And she had told her therapist about _him_. What was wrong with her?!

Sarah heard movement and lifted her head off of her arms. The hallway was empty. She had been sure she had heard something. But Sarah caught sight of that stupid mirror across from her again and she forgot the noise.

Leaning against her chair, his head propped up on his arm, stood the Goblin King, dressed in his ballroom finery and blue jacket. Sarah groaned ran her hand through her hair.

"Go away!" she hissed, taking care to keep her voice low. "I don't want you here."

He made no reply, but his smirk became more pronounced. Sarah scowled.

"Fine." she whispered. "Two can play at that game."

And she turned her chair to face the wall. Fifteen minutes later, when her orderly returned, she was still sitting that way; ramrod straight, her arms crossed over her chest, staring determinedly at the wall. Sarah saw one of the man's eyebrows go up, but he said nothing. She followed him back to her room without complaint and sat on the bed as he closed and locked the door. And Sarah found herself glad, for once, that her room had no mirrors.

* * *

Hoggle flew through what seemed like a long, colored tunnel at high speed. If this went on much longer, he was gonna be sick. He hated traveling this way. Only love for Sarah would have him doing it. But he had been moving a long time, longer than it usually took to arrive in Sarah's bedroom. Hoggle was starting to get worried when, finally, it stopped. He stumbled a bit on the landing before getting the chance to look around.

His first and obvious deduction was that this was not Sarah's home. He had landed in a long, white hallway, lit up by overhead, fluorescents. There was a mirror on the wall behind him, and paintings of ugly pastel flowers along the other walls. His second guess was that Jareth had sent him to the wrong place. But that couldn't be right. Surely he knew where Sarah was. Maybe she was just visiting this place. Whatever the case, it gave him the creeps, so he hurried down the hallway in search of his friend.

**A/N: Short, I know, but bear with me. The next chapter is going to be longer. R&R!**


	7. Chapter Seven

**A/N: Chapter seven, R&R!**

**Disclaimer:**** My power over **_**Labyrinth**_** extends only so far as the plot of my story.**

Sarah's flight from the psychiatrist's office lost her lunchroom privileges for the day, but it hardly bothered her. She was still angry with herself for speaking of _him_. When the nurse brought her tray, she ignored it, except to knock the overripe peach onto the floor. It reminded her of that stupid ballroom fantasy again, which she was doing everything in her power to forget.

So she dwelt instead on the issue of Toby. Her baby brother, as young as he was, obvious recognized the white barn owl as the Goblin King, but how? As far as Sarah could tell, there were three possibilities.

Option one: Toby remembered the thirteen hours he had spent in the Goblin City, in Jareth's company. But she doubted it. After all, how could a baby have such a good memory?

Alright then, option two. The Goblin King had returned, now that Toby was unprotected and was trying to steal him away again. Sarah clenched her teeth at the thought. Jareth would have her to deal with if this were the case.

The third option was rather silly, but Sarah needed to consider all the different possibilities.

When she had first returned home from the labyrinth, Sarah had insisted on keeping Toby close to her at all times. For the first few weeks, she had brought him to sleep in her room. She knew she talked in her sleep; he father constantly teased her about it. Sarah also knew that her dreams during that time had been mainly of _him_ and his labyrinth. So it was possible that Toby had picked up the name then.

Sarah felt heat in her cheeks and she knew she was blushing. Annoyed, she turned her thoughts back to her brother.

As far as she could tell, there were no other possibilities. No fourth option. The idea that he had returned seemed the most likely and Sarah felt her face flush again, this time in anger. Even if she were on her best behavior, staying the full time of her sessions with Dr. Ako, eating all of her meals and sleeping at night, it might not be enough for them to let her leave. But, at the moment, it was the best plan she had for protecting her little brother, so it would have to do.

With an exasperated sigh, Sarah collapsed onto the bed and pulled her pillow over her face.

* * *

Hoggle wished he knew where he was. It would make everything so much easier to know. When Hoggle had first started visiting Sarah, Jareth had told him all the magical laws about being seen by humans. The rules were, obviously, different in the Underground than the Aboveground.

Inside the labyrinth, or anywhere in the Underground, magical creature could be seen by humans. Simple enough.

Rules for the Aboveground were more complicated. Children could see magical creatures, as could people who had traveled to the Underground before. Adults who were especially perceptive or still had good imaginations could sometimes see them too. Other than that, magical creatures were invisible.

Hoggle was just beginning to wonder if he was in some sort of daycare and about to cause an uproar, when heard a cry behind him.

"What the hell was that?!"

Hoggle ran around the corner and hid himself behind the first unlocked door he could find. It seemed to be a supply closet and he peered out the keyhole, ignoring the mop poking him in the back. He could see two men in off-white scrubs walking down the hallway towards his hiding place.

"Where did it go?" the man who had seen him wondered.

"There was nothing there, Steve." a second voice said impatiently.

"I saw it, Paul!" argued Steve. "It--it was like a--a troll or a gnome or something!"

Hoggle scowled into the darkness. Couldn't a person tell a dwarf when they saw one?

"You were imagining things." Paul decided. Then he laughed. "Hey, maybe working in an insane asylum is making you nuts!" Steve laughed too, only hesitantly, and they went on their way.

Hoggle waited until their footsteps died away and then cautiously opened the door and slipped out. Why was Sarah in an insane asylum? Wasn't that where they locked up crazy people? Even though he knew he had to be more careful now, Hoggle wanted, more than ever before to find his friend. Jareth's worry that something was wrong suddenly didn't seem so far off base. The dwarf trotted down the hallway, his concern growing with each moment that passed.

* * *

When the older nurse, the less cheerful one, brought Sarah her dinner tray, she changed her routine unexpectedly by talking to Sarah.

"Miss Williams? Have you seen anything odd, inside or out of your room today?"

Sarah looked up from the peas she was smashing with the back of her plastic spork, surprised. The first thought that came to her mind was Jareth perched on the back of her chair, outside the therapist's office, but she said: "No, why?"

The nurse sighed and shrugged. "They told me to ask all the patients."

Sarah was mildly interested. "Why?" she repeated curiously.

"Apparently, there have been some patients, and even a few orderlies and nurses who have reported seeing a little gnome-thing running around here." She rolled her eyes, as if to show Sarah what little stock she put in stories like this one.

"A--a gnome thing?" Sarah had dropped her spork, completely engrossed in the story.

"Yeah, you know. 'Bout three feet tall. Squashed looking little fellow. Potato-sized nose."

Sarah did know. She wasn't descibing any gnome Sarah had ever seen. It sounded more like a desciption of her dwarf friend. But nonetheless, after the nurse had left, she tried to quash the little seed of hope that was slowly growing in her chest. Surely Hoggle hadn't come back, after all this time?

If he had, all she could do was wait. Sarah hated waiting.

She put the pillow back over her face.


	8. Chapter Eight

**A/N: Chilly down, chilly down and R&R!**

**Disclaimer:**** No ownage. Bad luck.**

"These…ah, sightings are causing an uproar amongst the patients, you say?" inquired the doctor, scrutinizing a rather nervous young orderly over her red-rimmed glasses.

"Yes, ma'am." he answered. "We had to empty the cafeteria when about half of the patients saw the--the monster." He flushed, as if embarrassed for using the word.

"Group psychotic episode." murmured the psychiatrist. "Very well. I have been going over patient records and I believe it would be best to sedate these patients." she waved a manicured hand over a small stack of manila folders. "That top one is first priority."

"Why is that, doctor?" asked the orderly curiously.

"All of the patients in that stack are schizophrenic, George." she replied. "As you know, schizophrenics are prone to see things that aren't there. They are also more likely to self-inflict pain."

George nodded eagerly. She gave him a tolerant, closed-lip smile. "The patient whose records are in the top folder is a paranoid schizophrenic. Do you know what that means, George?"

"It means the patient not only has hallucinations, he or she believes that these hallucinations are out to get him or her." he answered hurriedly.

"Correct in the essentials." she nodded kindly. "And that particular girl has hallucinations of monsters. So you'll understand why we don't want her to know of this. She may harm herself."

"I'll be sure to give her top priority." he said, bobbing in anxiety.

"See that you do." Dr. Ako returned in a steely voice. He left the room and she leaned back in her chair, steepling her fingers, deep in thought.

* * *

"Ahhhh! Monster!!!" the now-familiar cry pierced the air.

"Aw, fer Pete's sake!" grumbled Hoggle, slipping into another hiding place. If you were from the Underground, you might mistake these crazies for the sane ones. Over half of them could see the dwarf, as he had discovered, and most reacted this way.

"Mr. James, what is it?" an orderly gripped the middle-aged man's upper arm and turned him away from Hoggle.

"There's a troll under the water fountain."

Hoggle took this moment to escape. He darted out faster than you would expect from such a stocky little fellow and hurried into the next, blessedly empty corridor. He stood as tall as he could to squint at the names on the doors. As luck would have it, Sarah had taught him enough English during his visits to her that he would recognize her name if he saw it. This was not it. He followed the doors to the corner; none were Sarah.

He was just turning the corner to check the next hallway when he heard it again.

"Oh my God!! There's a leprechaun!"

This time, it was with a derisive snort that he hid himself behind an unlocked door, which happened to be the men's bathroom. He heard a stall door open behind him and swung around, prepared to defend himself. But it was just a balding man holding an oddly familiar-looking blonde toddler…

The man acted as if Hoggle didn't exist and went to wash his hands. The boy, however, looked directly at him and said in a high, clear voice: "Hog!"

* * *

Sarah looked up as her door opened, hoping against hope that it was Hoggle. But, no, it was two orderlies, looking at her like she had two heads.

"What?" she snapped, in no mood to be diplomatic.

Neither one answered. It was then that she noticed one of them was holding a rather large syringe and needle. She swallowed hard. The two men moved forward, forgetting to close the door behind them. Sarah climbed off the bed, on the opposite side of them, putting it between her and the orderlies.

Just then, the bathroom door across the hall swung opened and out toddled Toby, chasing after what looked awfully like…

"Hoggle!" she yelped. He turned and looked at her as Toby caught up to him and threw his fat baby arms around him.

"Hog!" he announced contentedly. Sarah's father came out of the bathroom next, looking confused.

"Toby, what are you doing?" he demanded, scooping the little boy up. As soon as he was free, Hoggle dashed between the legs of the bewildered orderlies and into Sarah's room.

Then Robert noticed his daughter. "Sarah!" he said delightedly. "We decided to surprise you and come visit early this week."

The two orderlies exchanged a glance. "Uh, sir?" said the younger of the two. "We actually have a situation on our hands. The patients all seem to be seeing the same monster, running around today. We need to sedate the patients. We can't have you visiting."

Robert's face fell. "Oh…I see…"

"However." said the second quickly. "The medication wears off after a few hours, so if you'd like to come back then, or even wait in the cafeteria, that would be fine."

"Oh! That would work."

"Dad--" Sarah tried to speak, but he cut her off.

"They'll bring you down to the cafeteria when you wake up, okay, Sarah?" he smiled cheerfully and Toby waved.

"Thank you, sir." said, the orderly, before shutting the door.

Sarah exchanged a panicked look with Hoggle.

"Now, Miss Williams, could you please just relax for me?"

"No way." she snarled.

"I promise this won't hurt."

"I don't care." she retorted. "I don't want to be knocked out."

"Miss…" the younger orderly tried to grab her arm, but she jerked free.

"Don't touch me!"

But, faster than she expected, the second orderly was behind her, pinning her arms to her sides.

"Let. Go. Of. Me." she growled, stamping on his foot with each word. Hoggle tried to free her, but he was no more substantial to the men than a ghost would have been.

The younger orderly approached with an apprehensive look on his face. She kicked at him and he stepped back.

"Just jab her already!" bellowed the bigger man holding her. "She's stronger than she looks."

Sarah felt a sharp stab on her revealed shoulder and everything started to take on a hazy quality instantly. The orderly's grip on her slackened, but still held her up as he led her to the bed.

She collapsed against the pillow, falling into the first real sleep she had had in a long time. As she lost consciousness, Sarah could swear that she heard a familiar lullaby playing her to sleep.

**A/N: Mean, mean orderlies. Please read and review, you guys have no idea how much I love to hear feedback. Thanks to all who have read this story so far!!**


	9. Chapter Nine

**A/N: So, exciting news! I managed to get ahold of a copy of the anniversary edition of **_**Labyrinth**_** that came out last week! So, hopefully, now that I own the movie, I will be more inspired on this fic. That said, on to the chapter!!**

**Disclaimer:**** I own nothing. Such a pity.**

Sarah felt weightless, like she was floating, a bubble. She heard the first few notes of a familiar refrain and her eyelids fluttered. Her dreams were fragmented and confused. One part of her was panicked, while the other relaxed and allowed the flashes of people and places crossed her subconscious. She saw her mother, on a stage, surrounded by adoring fans, her father giving her that worried look, Hoggle, Didymus, Toby, her stuffed bear, Lancelot. There was no sense to it. Logic told her that she's better wake up now, but her body resisted. She was far too comfortable.

Someone was singing, a strong, intense voice was singing her name. She recognized it and her mouth formed around his own name, prepared to reply…

A knotty hand gripped her shoulder painfully and shook her. "Sarah! Don't!"

Her eyes flew open and she sat up in one movement. Disappointment settled in her stomach like a lead brick. She was still in the hospital. Then she remembered Hoggle and her excitement flooded back.

"Oh, Hoggle!" she cried, leaping off the bed and crushing him into a hug.

"Yeah, yeah." he said gruffly, but she knew he was pleased. He pulled away from her, though, sooner than she would have liked and gave her a stern glare.

"Ya know ya talk in yer sleep, Sarah?" he inquired.

Sarah winced a little. "I've been told that…"

"Well, ya need to figure out a way around that." he frowned. "If ya had said that rat's name, he might'a showed up right here! Sorry I had ta wake ya." he added apologetically.

Sarah's face reddened in anger and embarrassment. Invade her dreams again, would he? "It's fine, Hoggle." she lied, hiding her discomfort. "I needed to be awake anyway."

Hoggle looked relieved and Sarah thought it was probably a good time for a subject change.

"How did you manage to find me?" she asked. "I haven't got a mirror to call you."

"Uh--I fell outta one in the hallway." he told her evasively. It was not lost on Sarah that he had not answered her question completely, but she decided to let it go, for the moment, at least.

"I've missed you." she confessed. "I was starting to wonder if I'd made the whole thing up." she shook her head, a little scornfully. "But I doubt I'm that creative."

"Why're ya here, Sarah?" Hoggle said softly.

She laughed, but it was a bitter laugh that he did not recognize. It made goosebumps rise on his arms. This Sarah was far more cynical than the one he knew.

"That's what they do to people who see Goblin Kings in their mirrors, I suppose."

Hoggle' eyes widened. Jareth had behaved as if he hadn't seen Sarah since she defeated him, and seemed sincere when he had ordered the dwarf to mention nothing of his involvement. But, then, the Goblin King was not exactly known for his honestly and trustworthiness. Hoggle scowled. He half hoped that Jareth had been lying to him and that he was watching her, because he didn't want to face what it might mean if he hadn't been.

"Hoggle?" Sarah waved her hand in front of his face. "Are you listening to me?"

"Huh?" he came back to reality, to find her peering anxiously at him.

"You aren't sick, are you?" her face was concerned and she was the Sarah he knew again. Worried about him when she was locked up in a crazy house.

"Nah, wasn't paying attention. Sorry." he grunted. "What were ya sayin'?"

"I'm worried about Toby. How did he know who you were?" she asked, her forehead crinkled in anxiety. "Because he recognized Ja--"

The door opened and the orderlies who had sedated her came into the room, taking care to shut the door behind them, this time.

"Talking to yourself again, Miss Williams?" mocked the big one. "You're nuttier than squirrel shit."

"God, Sebastian, be nice, would you?" snapped the younger one. "She's locked up in here 24/7, man, and you wanna make fun of her?"

"If you two are done pretending I don't understand you." Sarah said, annoyed, "I'd like to go see my father and brother now."

"Sure thing, hot stuff." the one called Sebastian winked and tried to take her arm. Sarah jerked away with a venomous look.

"I'm not paralyzed, you don't need to help me walk." she returned scathingly. He didn't try to take her arm again, but opened the door. Sarah allowed herself a brief glance back at Hoggle and a jerk of the head, conveying that he should come with her.

They walked down the hall in silence, an orderly on either side of Sarah, ready to catch her if she tried to bolt, she imagined. Finally, they got the cafeteria and they left her alone with Hoggle.

"I can't talk to you here." she whispered before opening the door. "But I thought anything would be better than waiting for me in that damn room."

Hoggle nodded in agreement and she pushed open the door. The cafeteria was empty, except for her father and Toby, sitting at the farthest table from the door. Both looked up when the door opened.

"Sarah!" exclaimed Toby jubilantly. "Hog!"

Sarah saw her father give the boy a puzzled look and she exchanged a troubled glance with the dwarf. She sat down at the table across from them, inconspicuously pulling the other chair out for Hoggle.

"Sarah," he smiled, looking comforted by her presence. "How are you?"

She shrugged. "Alive."

He chuckled as if it had been a joke. It hadn't. Toby beamed at her and slid down from his chair to stumble over to her. Sarah picked him up with a smile and he waved at Hoggle from her lap.

"Hi Hog."

Her father's forehead creased. "Who is this 'Hog' he keeps talking about?" he wondered. "Do you know?"

"Sorry, Dad." she lied. "No clue."

"Must be an imaginary friend." he mused. "Karen said--"

"Karen said what?" she interrupted sharply. Robert looked surprised.

"Just that she thought she'd heard him talking to himself in the middle of the night. Keeps mentioning 'Gob-gob' at home. She assumed it must be--Sarah? Are you alright?"

Sarah turned her panicked eyes down to stare at the tabletop. "I'm fine, Dad." she said, her voice slightly higher than usual as she traced a pattern in the wood grain with her index finger.

Toby knew Hoggle. He also seemed to know _him_. Gob-gob sounded about as close as the two year old could get to _goblin_. Was it possible that he had come back or sent goblins for her precious baby brother? He very likely knew she wasn't at home. After all, he could just transform into an owl and fly Aboveground. If he discovered she wasn't coming home, he might--

"Sarah, are you even listening to what I'm saying?" demanded her father. She looked up at him. His expression was a mixture of annoyance and worry. "What is the matter?"

"Nothing." she repeated. "I was just thinking."

"What about? Honestly, honey, you haven't been yourself." he chided. She shrugged.

"What do you want me to be like?" she said sullenly.

"I just want you to be happy." he cried in exasperation. "And only seeing things that are there. What makes you happy?"

Sarah raised an eyebrow, a sneaking suspicion growing in her mind. "What d'you mean, exactly?"

"I mean, what sort of place makes you happy?"

"Not this one." she answered briskly. "A place where there aren't obnoxious doctors and fathers who do their dirty work."

One look at her father's face confirmed what she said was true. The surprise midweek visit was Dr. Ako's idea.

"And," Sarah snapped. "For the record, I _do_ only see things that are there." She pushed her chair away from the table and stood up.

"Have a nice week." she said, more gently as she handed Robert the baby. "But please don't try to trick me again."

She strode out into the hallway, where the orderlies were waiting, Hoggle trotting along in her wake and she realized, in retrospect, that flying off the handle was not the number one way to be discharged.

By the time they had gotten back to her room, Sarah's gloomy mood had grown worse. The orderlies locked her and Hoggle in, laughing and she dropped to the bed, depressed.

Hoggle took her hand. "We're gonna get ya outta here somehow." he said comfortingly.

Sarah smiled weakly, doubtfully. But his assurance had reminded her of something she had yet to figure out…

"Hoggle?" she murmured.

"Yeah?"

"How did you get here?"

"Through the--that mirror in--in the hallway." he said, obviously flustered. Sarah glared down at him, pulling her hand away.

"You don't think I'll fall for that?" she raised an eyebrow significantly. "Tell me the whole story, Hoggle, and it better be the truth. I don't think I can stand anymore lies."

**A/N: R&R! I've had a couple people ask me to make chapters longer and I promise, I'm trying. It seems my brain is hardwired for short chapters. But maybe I'll manage a long one sometime soon. In the meantime, thanks to all who have reviewed so far. You guys are great.**


	10. Chapter Ten

**A/N: Back again! This chapter was really difficult for me to write, so I don't know if I'm entirely pleased. That's also why it's shorter than the last few have been. Sorry about that.**

**Disclaimer:**** I own nothing, nothing, nothing, tra la la!**

Hoggle shifted uncomfortably under Sarah's piercing gaze. He suddenly understood how someone could call her emerald eyes cruel. It was as if she was scraping the truth from his very soul.

"I can't tell ya." he muttered nervously. "I ain't supposed ta."

"Why not?" she tilted her head slightly, curiously, and Hoggle was unexpectedly struck by how Jareth-like the movement was. It worried him.

"I--I just can't." he wished she would just understand and drop it. But Sarah was far too stubborn for that.

"Will you be in trouble?" there was a dangerous glint in her eye that reminded him again of the Goblin King. He shook his head slightly to clear it.

"You won't?" she sounded genuinely surprised. He realized she had taken his movement as an answer.

"I will." he grumbled, knowing she wouldn't rest until she got it out of him. "_He'll_ be furious."

"So what?" now Sarah jutted her chin out obstinately, a gesture that was all her own. "Who care what he thinks?"

"Sarah," he sighed. "You forget that I'm a coward. He scares me."

"Well, he doesn't scare me!" she lied boldly. "Should I just call him hear now and ask him?" She cocked her head again and Hoggle repressed a shudder. He was sure she would do it, if pushed far enough.

"No!" he yelped. "I'll tell ya. I's never met anyone with as strong a will as ya." he added under his breath.

_For my will is as strong as yours…_ Sarah forced her thoughts back to the present. "Tell me." she said. Hoggle understood that it was more command than suggestion and sighed in defeat.

"He sent me."

Sarah looked confused. "Who?"

"_He_ did. The Goblin King."

Sarah's confused expression froze in place. "Oh, did he?" she said stiffly. "And why, exactly would he do that?"

"Uh…well…" Hoggle stammered.

"If this has anything to do with Toby…" she said threateningly.

"It ain't got nothing ta do with Toby!" argued Hoggle, uncertain why he was defending the man he hated.

"Why then?" she hissed coldly.

"He heard ya." Hoggle blurted.

"What?" snapped Sarah, sharper than she had meant to be with her friend.

"Ya called me, and he heard ya."

"I--he--but--you--it--what?" she blinked. "But I was calling _you_."

"I guess he can hear when ya do that."

"Why?"

Hoggle shrugged. Sarah didn't understand. If Jareth had always been able to hear her calling Hoggle, why didn't he prevent Hoggle from coming to see her the very first time? And why would he actually go so far as to send Hoggle when the dwarf couldn't do it himself and would have never known she needed him? Stalking her through the mirrors was one thing, something she expected, but compassion? She began, unconsciously, to pace the room. A nervous habit, her father had alwaty said.

"Sarah?" Hoggle's voice was almost as concerned as the gruff little fellow could manage.

"Yes?" she said evenly, still tracing her path. He opened his mouth, decided against it, and closed his mouth. Sarah continued crossing the room, back and forth in measured steps.

They both remained silent for a moment. It vaguely registered in Sarah's mind the camera was following her, instead of maintaining its usual stationary state. But the idea that Jareth was capable of kindness was seriously battering her ego, which distracted her. She almost felt sympathy for him, and then she remembered…

"If that's so," she snarled, skidding to a halt. "Why does Toby recognize him? Why is my baby brother seeing goblins in his bedroom?"

And, of course, Hoggle had no answer to that.

"I want to talk to him." she said rashly. "Now."

"Sarah--"

"You don't understand." she said angrily. "I almost lost my brother once. That was enough. I _will not_ let it happen again."

"But, Sarah--" Hoggle tried to protest, but it was too late.

"Jareth!"

"Sarah!"

"Damn it, Jareth!"

"Stop!" Hoggle moaned.

"JARETH! I KNOW THAT YOU CAN HEAR ME, WHEREVER YOU ARE, SO SHOW YOURSELF ALREADY!"

The camera light blinked frantically and the door burst open. Sarah turned, half expecting to see the handsome leather-clad blonde. But it was Sebastian and his the young orderly.

"God, not you again!" cried Sebastian. "Do you ever stop with the crazy?"

"If you so much as touch me…" Sarah backed away, letting the sentence hang.

"Oh, shut up."

"Sebastian…"

"Daniel, she's a nut job, so don't talk to me about freakin' morals. Just help me."

They came at her from opposite directions, backing her into the corner.

"Miss Williams, you already know it doesn't hurt." Daniel said soothingly. He clearly didn't want to fight her. "Can't you just let us do our job?"

"When hell freezes over." she retorted.

"C'mere!" Sebastian reached for her and Sarah did the first thing that crossed her mind: she screamed. Loudly.

"Oh, for God's sake! Shut UP!" Sebastian's hand clamped over her mouth and she reacted instinctively again, biting down with all her strength. "Ow!" he jerked his hand back, stunned. It was bleeding. "You _bitch_!" Suddenly, he slapped her, hard, across the face and she staggered.

"_Sebastian_!" cried the dismayed Daniel.

"Shut the hell up and stab her." the big orderly growled, grabbing Sarah's upper arms and jerking her roughly towards the bed.

Daniel's eyebrows rose disapprovingly, but he appeared to be too scared to do anything about it. Sarah felt the needle prick her arm and, for the second time in her life, felt the sensation of sinking beneath black waters into complete and blissful unconsciousness.

**A/N: Yeah, I dunno. I have a great idea for the next chapter, though, so it'll be better. R&R!!**


	11. Chapter Eleven

**Disclaimer:**** I ask for so little, just that you refrain from suing me, because I don't own **_**Labyrinth**_**…**

"Someone's about to make a wish!" an annoying high-pitched voice broke through the Goblin King's train of thought. He looked up to see who the offending goblin was.

The creature was even more pitiful looking than the rest, scrawny and sickly green, with a pointed nose. He was new, Jareth remembered. Changed just a few days previous. In fact, he might even know the little bloke's name.

"Snuffs…"

"Snout, yer majesty."

"Yes. Do you, by any chance recall what I said about wishes?" he smiled benevolently at the miserable thing.

"Er, don't bother ye unless its already happened?" he guessed.

"Very good." the Goblin King nodded. "I have expressly told you to _stay out of my way unless the wish has already been made!_" he bellowed, throwing the creature to the floor, where it scuttled, frightened into a corner. The other goblins, in and around the fire pit laughed uproariously.

"QUIET!" Everything was silent. Even the oldest of the goblins knew better than to cross their king when he was in such a mood. Jareth threw himself dispiritedly down onto the throne, awaiting the wish that would bring him two twin three year-olds. The mother that wished them away would beg for them back, just like all the others had. She would claim she hadn't meant it, that it wasn't fair. She would run the Labyrinth and she would fail. Two new goblins would join his ranks. He had been through this time and time again, and it was getting rather boring.

"_Jareth!_"

The Goblin King was jerked out of his reverie, this time by a much more familiar, much more pleasant (though currently irate) voice. Sarah. Wait, Sarah?

"_Damn it, Jareth_!"

The corners of his mouth twitched. Angry, was she? Higgly must have defied his command. He scowled at the thought.

But Sarah had called. What did he do? Present himself to her, as she wished? Let her fume awhile before appearing, or just decline to show up at all? After all, he had promised to never bother her again. On the other hand, she was calling him, so his coming would not be uninvited.

"JARETH! I KNOW YOU CAN HERE ME, WHEREVER YOU ARE, SO SHOW YOURSELF ALREADY!" My, but she was furious. Her cowardly little friend was probably terrified.

Jareth had nearly made up his mind on whether to show up or not when, without warning, Sarah's presence vanished from his mind, replaced by the gravely voice of Hogbrains.

"_Jareth...__Yer Majesty? I think ya probably wanna be here right now._" even in his mind; the dwarf was anxious and flustered. Something was wrong.

The Goblin King stood up very suddenly, ignoring the goblins who tried to tell him that the wish had been made. He strode to the window and transformed. The white owl took flight, headed directly for the Aboveground.

* * *

"Mr. Williams? Yes, this is Dr. Ako from the center." the psychiatrist examined her nails disinterestedly as she talked on the phone to Sarah's father.

"Is there anything wrong?" he asked her.

"Oh yes, Mr. Williams, but you'll find it is your problem and not ours."

"What is the problem?" Robert said, a tad irritated.

Dr. Ako fished in her desk for a nail file, came up with one and began filing her nails. "Your daughter, you see. She's run away." No emotion or inflection to give the appearance of any worry for the girl.

"What?!" he yelped.

"Most likely, she'll show up at your house," said the doctor soothingly, "but if she does not, I wanted you to know."

"Have you done nothing to find her?" gasped the astonished man.

"If you recall our contract, once they leave the grounds, runaways become the family's problem again."

"Surely she'll come back here." Robert tried to convince himself.

"Of course." simpered the doctor. "Unfortunately, if she does, and you decide to put her back into an institution, I'm afraid you will have to find a new one."

"Because she ran away?" he said indignantly.

"Of course not, sir; we _never_ judge our patients." answered Dr. Ako. "It's just that a young man by the name of Sebastian Cowell has taken her room."

"Why?" he demanded.

Dr. Ako shrugged, though the gesture was lost over the phone. "He was one of are orderlies here. Last one to see Sarah, in fact. It appears he has lost his mind. All he does is sits on the floor and rocks back and forth. Every now and then, he mentions monsters, but that's all." even the apathetic woman couldn't keep her voice from trembling at this. Sebastian's behavior was more frightening than any case she had ever seen and all he would say was 'goblin…monster….giant…ohno…pleeeaase!!!!'

"Oh." a pause. "I see."

"So we're all filled up." she continued cheerful, again. "So your daughter will have to relocate. So sorry. Yes, sir. Goodbye." Dr. Ako replaced the phone on its cradle and returned to digging through her desk, now looking for nail polish and ignoring the screams of her newest patient, down the hall.

**A/N: I know, I know. Short. But the next chappie is the Sarah/Jareth confrontation you've all been waiting for!! **


	12. Chapter Twelve

**A/N: Sarah/Jareth confrontation!!!!**

**Disclaimer:**** I own the soundtrack and the movie, but not the rights. Life can be so cruel.**

When Sarah first woke up, her head throbbing painfully, she wondered if she was still asleep. Or she really had, finally, gone crazy.

She was in a wide, four-poster queen-sized bed, covered in black satin sheets. The room was made of stone, with high ceilings, an ornate chandelier full of candles and a rich-looking cream and blue colored rug covering the cold stone floor. There was an enormous window through which strangely silver sunlight was shining, framed by fragile looking, silk navy curtains. There was an elegant desk made of cherry wood and a brass floor lamp sitting next to it. A cherry wood wardrobe with a gilded mirror on the wall next to it. It was exactly the type of room Sarah would have had for herself, if she could've. But where _was_ she?

Then, like a ton of bricks, her scattered thoughts fell into place and she remembered. She had been fighting with her father, then with Hoggle and finally, the orderlies had come to sedate her. But, before that…she had angrily called for…

"Jareth!!" she shrieked, leaping out of bed. She barely registered her change of clothes, a simple, yet elegant white dress before she flung the bedroom's mahogany door open and stepped out into a long, stone hallway. She was furious.

"JARETH!!" She stomped down the hallway, stopping at every door and throwing it open in her enraged search for that damn Goblin King. "Jareth, goddamn it!!"

She reached the door at the end of the hallway and shoved through it into the throne room. There were goblins and chickens everywhere. They started cackling when they saw her, her dark hair flying and her face red with anger. She clentched and unclentched her fists.

"Where is he?" she grabbed a goblin from the fire pit by the ear, roughly, her green eyes flashing. "Where is the bastard?" The other goblins fell silent, afraid of the teen.

"'Ee's--ain't in." stammered the frightening creature.

"He's gone from the castle?" she demanded. The goblin swallowed and shook his head. This girl was almost as scary as his master.

"'Ee's in 'is study."

Sarah tossed him to the floor and walked out, slamming the doors behind her. The goblins waiting until they were sure she was gone before they dared to make anymore noise.

"Where's the study?" she wondered aloud, her anger fading a little as she continued to search, seemingly in futile. The next flight of stairs she came to, she took, two at a time and found to hallways at the top. Sarah chose the right one and, after a few minutes, found herself in one of the many doorways of the Escher Room.

Sarah backed out hastily and retraced her path to the fork, this time taking the left hall. It ended in more stairs, which spiraled up as far as she could see. She sighed and started up, counting her steps.

At the 100th step, she looked out the window. She could see the whole Labyrinth from here, and horizon beyond. She swallowed nervously. She had never liked heights.

Finally, about ten minutes later, she stumbled over the 319th step and right into a heavy, dark, almost black door. She caught her breath before she shoved the door open.

She was in a library. Hundreds of bookshelves that reached to the ceiling greeted her, filled with books of every size, material and color. The floor was covered in rich golden rugs. Sarah forgot her anger completely for a moment and started down on of the aisles. Behind the rows of shelves was a sitting area with a number of comfortable-looking chairs and a massive window that filled and entire wall, looking out over something Sarah had never expected: a vast sea, the color of cobalt. She gasped involuntarily, hypnotized by the sunlight sparkling like diamonds off of the gently waving water. It was beautiful.

So distracted she was by the sight, that she never heard someone coming up behind her.

"You like my library, then?" purred a voice at her ear.

Sarah spun around, raising her fists. There, before her stood the man from her dreams, the man from her nightmares, Jareth. He was dressed in silver leggings and a glittering jacket of deepest green, his blonde hair shimmering like spun gold in the odd, half-sunlight. She gawked at him for a moment wondering if he had been this handsome last time she had been here. The Goblin King raised a thin eyebrow, a smirk playing at his lips as if he knew what she was thinking and she snapped out of it.

"What have you done?" she demanded. His other eyebrow rose to match the first, an innocently confused expression coming over his face.

"I'm afraid I don't know what you mean." He smiled at her. Mocking her. Blood pounded in her ears.

"I mean," she said through gritted teeth. "Why did you bring me here?"  
He laughed and she felt the hairs on her arms stand up. "Sarah. You asked me."

"I did not!" she snapped indignantly. "I wanted to talk to you, not to have you kidnap me!"

"Sarah, be reasonable." he said. "You wanted to talk to me, but you were unconscious. I could hardly wait around that miserable place until you awoke."

Sarah stuck her chin out obstinately. "Then why did you come at all? Someone could have seen you."

Jareth's expression darkened and he suddenly looked as menacing as the night Sarah had met him.

"_Did_ someone see you?" she inquired worriedly. "One of the men?"

"That _thing, _if you can call it a man, has been taken care of." he said forebodingly. Sarah shuddered against her will. She had to control herself better.

"I cannot believe you!" Sarah cried, throwing her arms up. "First Toby and now this!"

"I would think." the Goblin King said irritably. "That the matter of your brother was water under the bridge by now. You rescued him and, after all," he shot her a bitter smile. "I have no power over you. Remember?" His mismatched eyes scrutinized her, intensely.

Sarah's heart began to pound. _I'm not afraid of him._ _I'm not. _she told herself. _Stop it._

Outloud, she said, "If you have no power over me, why am I here?"

The smirk returned. "Ah, but I've told you, Sarah. You asked it."

"I did not!" she repeated heatedly. "You twisted my words so you could do whatever you wanted!" The smirk grew more pronounced.

"Same thing."

"Uhg! You are impossible!" Sarah stepped past him and trudged out, ignoring his piercing gaze on her. She ran headlong down the stairs and reached the bottom in half the time it had taken her to get to the top.

"Now, now, Sarah." whispered his voice. "Let's be careful who we say is the impossible one."

She turned and looked behind her. There was no one there. Sarah turned and ran, not stopping until she reached her room. She slammed and bolted the heavy door behind her and drew the curtain. Then she crawled back into the bed, pulled the covers over her head and forced herself to sleep.

**A/N: There you have it! R&R and the next chapter will be up soon! On that note, I have started back to school now and, since I am in the IB programme (I'm sure some of you know and fear it.) my senior year will not be as relaxing as some. I promise to continue this story, and there will be no unannounced hiatuses, but maybe a tad more time between chapters. I will try to keep up the regular pace, but if it gets to be too much, I may have to take more time. Please be patient with me. Next chapter up soon!**


	13. Chapter Thirteen

**A/N: You all know the drill! Read and review!**

**Disclaimer:**** I've worked so long, I've worked so hard…but it still ain't mine.**

This time, when Sarah woke up, it wasn't because some drugs had just worn off or because she was no longer exhausted. It wasn't even because she had been alerted by sunlight filtering in through the curtain. This time, Sarah was forced into consciousness because she sensed that not everything was the same as she had left it when she had gone to sleep.

Sarah sat up and opened her eyes. The first thing she noticed was the black sky, spattered with greenish-white stars and a large, full moon. Her curtains were open. Automatically, her eyes flew to the door, where the bolt stood, clearly unlatched. Her heart jumped to her mouth. _Someone_ had been in her room!

She swung her feet over the side of the bed and stood up, ready to fight again. At the same moment, the unlocked door began to swing open. Sarah looked around for a weapon and spied a small vase on the bedside table. She scooped it up and threw it with as much force as she could muster. It smashed into the door and shattered into a million pieces.

"Hey!" cried a dismayed and completely unfamiliar voice. "What are you playing at?!"

The door opened the rest of the way and, cautiously, in stepped one of the most beautiful creatures Sarah had ever lain eyes on.

She had silky, gently curling hair, blacker than midnight that fell to her knees. Her eyes were enormous and almond-shaped, the color of iron. Her skin looked incredibly delicate and pale, almost lavender and Sarah could not tell if she was very young or extremely old. She was only three feet tall and moved with such grace the teen could hardly believe her feet were touching the floor. After a cautious moment of staring at each other, the Fae moved closer and Sarah realized her feet _were_ above the floor as she caught a glimpse of large, glittering, transparent wings.

"I'm very sorry!" Sarah said faintly. "I--I thought you were someone else."

"Obviously." the iron eyes swiveled to the broken glass on scattered about the floor.

"Who--who are you?" Sarah wanted to ask _what_ she was, but thought it to rude and left the question at that.

"I'm Musa." she answered. "I am a sprite." she added, as if she could read Sarah's mind, a small smirk forming on her lips.

Sarah scowled, the impish grin reminding her of why she was here. "Not to be rude, but what are you doing in here?"

The sprite fluttered to her side and landed neatly on the bed. Standing there, she was almost at eye-level with Sarah. "I'm to be your companion." she replied. "I'll show you around the castle, give you some company and make sure all of your needs are met." When Sarah didn't seemed thrilled with this arrangement, she raised a thin black eyebrow. "I assume you would rather contend with me than, er, His Majesty?"

"Oh yes, absolutely!" Sarah exclaimed hastily. "Sorry. I was just curious."

"Curiosity is not a sin." agreed Musa. "But it should be exercised with caution. Follow me." Without another word, she lit off the bed and flew out into the hallway.

"Where are we going?" Sarah asked, before she could stop herself, pausing in the doorway.

"You humans are an inquisitive lot, aren't you?" mused the sprite, shaking her beautiful head. "We're going to run you a bath. You look as if you haven't bathed in days. No offense." She looked over her shoulder, making sure she hadn't offended Sarah.

"None taken." Sarah said, now eager to follow her. Never in her life had an idea sounded as good as this one did now. She hastened to catch up with Musa and the sprite waited patiently until she reached the bathroom at the end of the hallway.

Musa opened the door and led Sarah into the largest bathroom she had ever seen. The floor was tiled in black stone so polished she could see her reflection and a full length mirror hung on the opposite wall, next to a stand holding a basin, into which water streamed from the wall. There were even low benches and hooks to hang towels on.

In the middle of the room, sunk into the floor was a bathtub the size of a king bed. It was at least three feet deep and had a golden lever at the edge. It was to this lever that Musa flew and Sarah watched in amazement as she pulled it and holes opened in the sides of the tub and hot steaming water and bubbles poured in. When the tub was full, Musa pulled the lever again and the holes sealed themselves.

"I will return shortly." rising into the air again. "Your clean clothes are over there, as is your towel." she waved a tiny hand and both articles appeared on the wall hooks. She inclined her head slightly and vanished, leaving Sarah to enjoy her bath.

Sarah undressed quickly and slipped into the tub. The hot water seemed to seep into her very bones and the fragrance of the bubbles utterly relaxed her. A contented sigh escaped her lips and her thoughts drifted lazily as steam rose from the bath.

How long had it been since she had had a decent bath? It seemed like forever. As long as she'd been in the hospital. But she had lost count of how long she had been there with their cold showers and crude orderlies. How glad she was to be away from that place and back in the Underground, where she belonged…

Sarah stiffened. Why would she ever think a thing like that?! She belonged at home with her family! She reminded herself that she didn't want to be here anymore than she wanted to be in the asylum. Hospitality would not make her forget that; Jareth would not tamper with her memory again. She was angry at herself for letting her guard down and angry at him for everything else… Stupid, stupid Goblin King!

Her good mood had vanished as quickly as it had come. Irritated, Sarah clambered out of the bath and snatched the fuzzy towel off the hook. She dried her face and then toweled off, snatching the aqua-colored muslin dress and slipping it on. It fit her perfectly and was still comfortable. That only served to make her more angry and she turned away from the mirror and wrung her hair out. Brushing her hair always made her feel better. She turned to the sink and picked up the ivory-handled brush that sat on the edge.

When she was sure her hair was perfectly straight and tangle-free and her mood was in check, Sarah sat down the brush and opened the bathroom door. Musa was sitting in a chair in the hallway, directly across from the doorway and she looked up with a smile when Sarah came out.

"Better?" she asked. Sarah nodded silently. "Good."

"Would you like to eat now?" Musa queried, hopping gracefully out of the chair and hovering a few inches above the stone floor. Sarah nodded again, suddenly aware of how hungry she was. The sprite fluttered down a hallway that Sarah hadn't noticed, with the teen close behind.

The dining hall was, of course, another magnificent room, with ceilings so high Sarah wouldn't have been sure they were actually there, if not for the chandelier flickering and shining with a thousand candles. The only furniture in the room was the long table and the chairs around it (which seated 50-some-people).

Sarah sat down in the chair to the direct right of the head and Musa took the one on the left, directly across from her. The food was already there, in heaps and mounds on silver trays and in bowls. Meats, breads, puddings of every kind. Sarah reached eagerly for the nearest bowl, pulling it close to see what it was before deciding to sample it. The gleaming bowl was full to the brim with small, perfectly round, ripe, juicy-looking peaches.

Sarah's appetite vanished in an instant. Her ears were ringing. Fae food. She remembered…

"I'm not hungry." she shoved the bowl away and stood abruptly. Musa looked up from her own plate, her tiny mouth twisted in surprise.

"What's the matter?"

"Even when he's not here, he's bothering me!" she exclaimed in exasperation.

The sprite cocked her doll-sized head, looking confused. "Who?"

"Jareth!" she snapped, dropping tiredly back into her chair. "That's who! He can get into my dreams and drag me off to fairy-tale lands whenever he wants! It's not--"

"Fair?" guessed Musa softly. "Sarah, listen to me. He's not as bad as you seem to believe."

"Like hell he's not!"

"No." Musa said firmly. "He's not. I heard what happened. Even your dwarf friend agrees that bringing you here was the safest and best thing to do."

"I don't care!" Sarah wailed. "I don't belong here!"

Musa raised an eyebrow as if to say 'oh really?' but didn't speak. Sarah crossed her arms stubbornly.

"Jareth is just a big bully who has nothing better to do than kidnap babies and seduce teenage girls!"

A mischievous grin crept onto Musa's face. "He's seduced you, then?"

"Yes! I mean, no! He's tried to." Sarah amended, her face reddening. Musa laughed and the sound was like tinkling glass.

"If I knew no better, I would say--"

"I'm in no way attracted to him, so don't even suggest it." snarled Sarah. "He's so cruel."

Musa sobered, her iron eyes serious. "Everyone is cruel, Sarah."

And, of course, Sarah had no answer to that. She had been cruel more times than she liked to think about.

"It--it doesn't matter." she fibbed. "I hate him. And you can tell him if you like."

Musa's eyes shimmered with tears, whether of anger or pity, Sarah did not know for, at that moment, she smiled and took wing as the food vanished from the table.

"It's rather late." she said aloud. "Are you ready to go back to bed?"

Sarah was still bone tired, even though she had slept through the day, but she was determined not to show it. "Not yet." she lied again. The sprite beamed.

"Excellent. There's something I want to show you." She flew off so fast that Sarah had to jog to keep up with her.

"What is it?" she asked.

"More questions?" marveled Musa. "You humans never stop." She led Sarah to a door that was bigger than any of the others she had seen so far. Sarah didn't expect that the tiny sprite would be able to open it alone, but she simply stroked the door and whispered something under her breath and it swung open of its own accord.

And then they were outside. It was warm with a pleasant breeze that smelled faintly of the sea. Sarah breathed deeply and looked up at the night sky. She did have to admit, it was beautiful here.

"Sarah, are you coming?"

Jarred from her daydreaming, Sarah hurried to catch up with Musa, who was at the entrance to a stable Sarah had never seen before. She wanted to look around more, but it was too dark to see, so she followed Musa into the stable.

Inside, there were lanterns hanging from the ceiling and straw scattered on the floor. Musa skipped through the air to the very last stall.

"Are there animals in here?" Sarah hissed indignantly.

Musa looked surprised. "Of course."

"How could someone keep animals in such small cages?!"

The sprite's eyes widened when she realized why Sarah was angry and she laughed and shook her head. "Sarah. Come here."

Sarah stomped to her side and Musa opened the stall door and stepped in. Sarah didn't follow; she couldn't see how both of them would fit with the horse. Musa's head popped back out.

"Well? Come on!"

Sighing, Sarah slipped in, staying close to the wall. She was so intent on not crowding the creature, that at first, she didn't notice her surroundings. When she did she gasped out loud and Musa giggled delightedly.

They were in a field as big as the park near Sarah's home. It was nighttime, just like outside the stable, but it was clearly not the same place. The tall grass waved gently in the wind and Sarah could hear a brook trickling somewhere in the darkness. There were tall, dark shapes that Sarah guessed were trees and, directly in front of her stood Musa, patting the head of a pure white unicorn that lay in the grass.

"She's just had a foal, three days ago." Musa said, watching Sarah's expression intently as she stepped closer. When she got close enough, Sarah realized that there was a smaller creature lying against the unicorn. Musa stepped completely out of her way and she finally had a full view.

The foal had no horn to match its mother, but its coat was, instead of white, shimmering gold. It had long, knobbly legs and bright blue, intelligent-looking eyes.

"He's gorgeous!" exclaimed Sarah, completely forgetting her intention to remain stoic. She knelt down by the two unicorns and stroked the foal gently. "Are there unicorns in all of the stalls?"

Musa shook her head. "Only Athena and her little Apollo here."

"Where did she come from?" Sarah asked, not looking up from the creatures.

"Jare--I found Athena injured in the Labyrinth." explained Musa. "I brought her back to be nursed back to health."

Sarah looked back at her, having heard her stammering over the story. "_You_ found Athena?" she asked calmly. Musa muttered something and looked away. After a moment, she spoke again.

"Jareth found her." she said meekly. "I just--you got so mad when I mentioned him earlier…"

Sarah didn't say anything. She rubbed the head of the unicorn that Jareth had saved one more time and stood up.

"It's okay." she told Musa. "I understand."

The little sprite looked relieved and they went back up to the castle in a comfortable silence. It seemed like a long time to Sarah before they reached her room. She wandered after her guide dazedly until they reached the door to her chambers.

"You should get some sleep." Musa suggested. Sarah nodded agreeably and opened the door. "There should be some nightclothes on your pillow."

Sarah murmured a goodnight and closed the door behind her, but didn't bother to lock it. She changed slowly into her nightdress and then climbed into bed, pulling the blankets up to her chin.

Unfortunately, sleep did not come as easily as she had hoped. She couldn't stop thinking about the unicorns and Musa and Jareth and everything that happened to her since yesterday. Musa had said that everyone was cruel. If that was true, why should she hate the Goblin King for being that way.

_It doesn't make any difference._ she told herself savagely. _The man stole my baby brother and kidnapped me. I don't want anything to do with him!_

With this twisted comfort, she pulled her pillow over her face and drifted off to sleep.

**A/N: I just noticed that every chapter ever ends with Sarah falling asleep. Don't worry, the next one won't. I think it will contain another Sarah/Jareth confrontation, so keep your eyes peeled for it. In the mean time, R&R!**


	14. Chapter Fourteen

**A/N: You have no idea how sorry I am! School and work have been, quite frankly, hell, so all I've managed to do lately is scribble random sentences of this fic down on whatever was available. I thank all of you for being so patient with me. I promise the next chapter will be up much sooner. **

**Note: See if you can spot the quote from another fandom and you get a cookie!!**

**Disclaimer:**** I have reordered time…and still, I don't own **_**Labyrinth**_

Sarah was already wide awake and glaring at the ceiling when Musa came to get her up the next morning. She hadn't slept well at all, her dreams punctuated by peaches and unicorns and Goblin Kings. And, of course, while Sarah was dead exhausted, her companion was overly enthusiastic about _everything_.

"Are you ready to have a spectacular day?" she asked brightly. "Because we're going to. I can feel it."

Sarah mumbled a reply into her pillow and the sprite smirked broadly. "Did you sleep well?" she asked knowingly, a twinkle in her steel-colored eyes.

Sarah sat up in order to look disbelievingly at her new friend.

"Your hair looks like a haystack…I like it."

Sarah scowled. "Do I look like I slept well?"

"Well, you do know what they say about insomnia?" Musa remarked. "People who can't sleep have guilty consciences."

Sarah said: "I don't know what you mean." and climbed out of bed, ending the conversation.

Musa forced the human girl to hurry, getting dressed and then dragging her off to breakfast. Sarah was sure it was illegal to be so energetic this early in the morning.

"Why are you in such a rush this morning, Musa?" queried Sarah, jabbing at her eggs until they got cold and runny.

"You'll find out after breakfast." the sprite said vaguely, spooning more porridge into her mouth. Sarah sighed in exasperation and set her fork down, waiting for Musa to finish.

"Are you still boycotting food?" wondered Musa, eyeing Sarah's untouched plate. Sarah decided not to reply and the Fae woman sighed, but waved a hand and all the extra food disappeared. Sarah tried to ignore the rumbling of her empty stomach and stood up.

"What's on the agenda for today?" she asked, trying not to sound impatient. The sprite's silver eyes lit up and she fluttered to Sarah's side.

"You and I," she said excitedly. "Are going to visit the sea!"

"Really?" Sarah tried to sound uninterested and failed miserably. "Just you and me?" she asked with some suspicion. Musa nodded, her ebony curls bouncing.

"For the whole day! We're leaving now. Everything is ready!"

"Then what are we waiting for?" Sarah exclaimed, allowing herself to be excited. "Let's go!"

Musa led her the same way they had gone the night before and, in a few minutes, they stumbled out into the sunlight, a few yards from the stables.

Sarah stopped dead in her tracks. Standing outside the stable were two horses, watching them approach calmly, both unteathered. The first was smaller, with a rippling roan coat and dark brown eyes.

The second horse was larger, tall and proud. Her coat shimmered somewhere between stormy grey, metallic silver and coal black. The horse leveled an imperious gaze at her and Sarah swallowed nervously. She got the feeling that they were waiting for her opinion. Never before had she seen such intelligent looking animals.

"They're beautiful!" she cried, taking a halting step forward. She longed to reach out and touch them, to see if their coats were as silky soft as she imagined. "What are their names?"

Musa was smiling as if she knew something that Sarah didn't. "They were named in ancient Fae languages, but the roughest human translations would be Willow--" the tan horse inclined her head. "And Stardust." The second horse continued to watch her with prideful curiosity. "We're going to ride them. You can ride, can't you?"

Sarah nodded, still maintaining eye contact with Stardust. "My father took me to a ranch to learn when I was nine." _Before he thought I was crazy._ she thought to herself with a twinge of sadness.

Musa clapped delightedly. "Excellent! I'll be on Willow then and Stardust is yours."

Though Sarah had expected such, it didn't make her any less nervous. She approached the horse so slowly that Musa was already mounted by the time she got close. She extended her hand slowly for Stardust.

"She can be a bit stubborn." warned Musa. "A bit like you." Sarah looked away from the horse for a split-second to give the sprite a scathing look. Then, her hand trembling, she reached towards Stardust again.

To Sarah's surprise, the horse nickered softly and nuzzled her nose against Sarah's hair. Before she could react, the horse was kneeling for her to climb on.

"Wow." Musa murmured as Stardust climbed lithely to her feet. "She usually insists on being difficult. I suppose _this_ time similar personalities mix well." She gave Sarah that mysterious smile again and urged Willow forward, with Sarah following on Stardust.

The ride wasn't as bad as Sarah had expected. Though it had been years since she last rode, Stardust seemed to know exactly how fast or slow to walk to make sure her rider was comfortable.

The two girls rode in relative silence for a long time. They passed through a emerald-green forest and came out in a deep gully, with high cliffs on either side. Sarah was so lost in her thoughts that she barely noticed the surroundings.

She couldn't stop thinking about the consequences of this latest adventure. She was living under the roof of her worst enemy, her father under the impression that she had run away from a Psych ward and on top of all that, her precious baby brother no longer had her to protect him from goblins or anything else.

"We're nearly there." Musa's quiet comment broke through Sarah's thoughts and jerked her back to the present. She was suddenly aware of the sound of crying gulls and the smell of salt, water and sand. They rounded a corner and the cliffs stopped abruptly. Sarah was able, for the first time, to see the Labyrinth Sea up close.

It looked even more vast close up. Beyond a stretch of fine white sand, water lapped at the beach, glittering grey-blue in the sunlight. The water seemed to reach out to the very edge of the world, to the very end of everything and disappeared over the horizon. Overhead grey gulls floated on hot air thermals, barely taking notice of the newcomers.

"Hungry?" asked Musa as she slid gracefully from Willow's back. As soon as she did so, the horse galloped straight into the waves with a delighted whinny. Musa waved her delicate hand and a picnic basket and blanket appeared out of nowhere. Without waiting for a reply, she spread the emerald green blanket on the sand and sat the basket in the middle of it. The sprite folded her legs, dropping into a sitting position on the blanket and opened the picnic lunch. She started to pull out all sorts of dishes, still taking no notice of Sarah, who was still perched on her horse.

After a moment of hesitation, Sarah climbed down from Stardust's back. As soon as she was safely on the ground, the horse trotted down to the shore to waves where Willow was already playing. Musa looked up at the two horses, who were obviously enjoying the cool water after their long walk and smiled. Still, she made no sign to indicate that she was aware of Sarah's presence.

Her continued ignoring was really starting to irritate Sarah, so she took a seat on the blanket, grabbed a juicy-looking green apple and, after a split-second's pause, took a bite. She didn't realize she had eaten the whole thing until she noticed Musa staring bemusedly at her as the sticky juice ran down her bare arm to the crease in her elbow. She blushed.

"How long has it been since you've eaten properly?" the sprite asked. Sarah shrugged.

"A long time." She started to reach for the loaf of bread but, before she had even touched it, Musa had filled a plate with food and shoved it into her hands. Sarah scarfed it all down while her friend sat watching the waves.

"Better?" Musa asked when she had finished. Sarah nodded contentedly. "So you trust our food now?"

Sarah started to nod, paused and then nodded again. "I'm sorry."

"I understand." Musa hesitated momentarily and then spoke up again. "Sarah? Can I ask you a question?"

Sarah was lying back on the blanket with her eyes closed, enjoying the warmth of the sun on her face. "Mmmhmm?"

Musa tried to choose her words carefully. "Why did you…what made your parents…put you up in…that place?"

Sarah opened her eyes. "They...heard me...talking to myself. I had nightmares and--" she hesitated, sitting up and looking at her new friend somberly. "I saw faces...in the mirrors." she ended in a whisper.

"What kind of faces?" Musa was unsuccessful in keeping the curiousity out of her voice.

Sarah's eyes darkened. "I never could tell. They were too vague."

Musa sensed her dishonestly, but let it pass and changed her tact. "Are you glad to be out of that place?"

"Of course, but..." Sarah paused, trying to find a safe way to word her thoughts. "I never expected to end up here again."

Musa nodded. "Why do you hate him so much?" She didn't have to say his name, Sarah knew who she meant.

She opened her mouth to reply, paused, and closed her mouth again. Several long moments passed as Musa waited patiently for Sarah's answer. Menacing clouds began to unfurl overhead and thunder rolled in the distance, but Sarah was still contemplating.

The rain started gradually, a light pattering that they found easy to ignore. But, within minutes, it was an absolute downpour. Cold, fat drops thundered down, drenching them both in a matter of seconds. They jumped up and Musa used her magic to get rid of the picnic things as the horses trotted towards them.

Blinking the water out of her eyes, Sarah looked out at the sea through a curtain of rain. The waves had become black and angry, churning like the contents of an overboiled kettle. The clouds overhead were a violent purple and growing larger by the second. It was as dark as night until, only several hundred yards down the beach a purple-white lightning bolt flashed to the sand. Sarah stumbled, blinded and terrified back to the horses and Musa as the following thunder shook the very ground.

"Let's get out of here!" cried Musa, already clinging to Willow's thick neck. Sarah struggled to climb on Stardust's back, her hands slippery with wet. Finally, she managed, and they took off into the quickly worsening storm.

Sarah wanted to close her eyes, but, she was too scared to take her eyes off of the path barely visible through the rain. Water flew into her eyes and she blinked furiously, momentarily loosing her grip on the horse's soaked mane. Another flash of lightening and a loud boom of thunder later, Sarah heard the horse's terrified whinny and felt herself thrown into the air. She landed on her back in a puddle, all the air knocked out of her. Blackness clouded at the corners of her eyes, but she blinked in back and forced herself into a sitting position.

Gasping for breath, she clambered to her feet and squinted into the onslaught of rain. No Musa, no Stardust. She was utterly alone. A flash of lighening and the ensuing crack of thunder, both much closer than ever before, made her jump and her heart started to thud as she began to panic. She was alone in a terrible storm with no way of reaching safety. What was she going to do?

Another ear-shattering peal of thunder briefly interupted her panic with confusion. Why had more thunder come without lightening? Without warning, a hand closed around her wrist and pulled her off the path, under the trees where the rain was a little less heavy. It look her a moment to realize that an enormous, charred tree-branch lay on the path where she had stood just seconds before. After a few moments of her heart stuttering frantically, it occured to her that the hand was still wrapped around her own.

And then, suddenly, it was no longer raining. Sarah blinked in confusion, adjusting to the light and she gradually realized it _was_ still pouring, only now she was inside. She was in the castle's entrance hall. The thunder outside seemed suddenly more distant and less dangerous.

She had been released as soon as she arrived in the room, but, once she got her bearings back, she knew she was not alone in the hall.

Sarah spun around. Standing directly in front of her was Jareth, somehow completely dry, though she was still dripping on the marble floors. His facial expression registered in her mind slowly. He looked furious and, for the first time in a while, Sarah felt a true thrill of terror rush through her.

"What" he said in a clipped tone, "were you thinking?"

"What exactly do you mean?" Sarah asked her voice sounding, if possible, colder than his.

"How could you allow yourself to get caught in such a terrible storm?" he elaborated.

Sarah's temper flared. "How can you possibly blame me for a _thunderstorm_?" she snapped in disbelief.

"If you had left the beach at the first sign of thunder" he argued. "You might have made it back before the storm had even begun!"

"Were you _spying _on us?!" Sarah shrieked indignantly.

"You could have gotten yourself killed!" he exclaimed, glossing over her question.

"What do you care?" she retorted. His mismatched eyes narrowed.

"I would think" he said deliberately and with the merest trace of a growl, "that point was made inescapably clear the last time you were here."

Sarah shivered, but it had nothing to do with the cold. Nontheless, she persistantly clung to her argument. "I don't believe that for a second."

Whatever insult or remark he had been expecting, it wasn't that. His face was uncharacteristically screwed up in confusion. "You--"

The doors suddenly burst open and Musa shot it, droplets of rain flying off her wings, sparkling like diamonds. "Sarah!" she cried in relief. "Oh thank heavens!" She was soaked to the bone and shivering. It seemed to take her a moment to recogize the Goblin King's presence. "Oh! My Lord!" she bowed hurriedly, her damp wings trembling with cold.

"Musa." Jareth spoke without ever taking his eyes off of Sarah. "Please take our guest to her rooms, get her cleaned up and give her some dry clothing. If she is hungry" his lips curved into a bitter sneer. "Have some food sent to her chambers. Make sure to get yourself something dry to wear as well or you'll be ill."

"Yes, Your Majesty." Musa's head bobbed respectfully and she took to the air again. "Come Sarah."

Sarah walked slowly past Jareth, following the sprite. She didn't dare look up at him, though she could feel his eyes on her. As the door swung closed behing them, she risked a glance back at him. He was standing, motionless, staring directly into her eyes. She turned away hurriedly, as the door clicked shut, feeling far worse than she had at any time before.

**A/N: Well, that's all for now, folks! Thanks so much for your patience, the next chapter is in the works and should be completed by Friday at the latest. Until then, ciao!**


	15. Chapter Fifteen

**A/N: I think this story may be going in a slightly different direction than I expected…Sarah and Jareth just kinda took over. So please bear with me, we are reaching the climatic point fairly soon. R&R!**

After the storm, Sarah saw nothing of the Goblin King for a full week. She spent her days either with Musa (though they never mentioned Jareth) or, if Musa has to attend to her duties as ambassador, wandering the castle and grounds alone.  
When Musa was with her, she learned to use a loom, visited the stables and sat in the garden. But when Musa had to leave, Sarah was left alone with nothing but her thoughts, and they weren't very comforting. It was very difficult to keep herself from thinking about Jareth and, on the occasions that she started to, she would attempt to ignore his existence, curling up with a book or feeding the horses, all the while maintaining a commendable indifference. Occasionally, though, she would be all alone and hear the creak of a stair or the swish of a cloak and wonder if her disregard was even worth the effort.

What with pretending Jareth wasn't real and Musa being increasingly busy with diplomacy, Sarah was beginning to feel rather lonely.

Nonetheless, she was rather surprised when, early one morning, she climbed the stairs to the library and found Jareth there, staring out the window with his back to her. She quickly backpedaled, hoping she could escape without his noticing. But, of course, he already knew she was there.

"I always find it rather interesting," he said, without turning around. "that, when I see something every single day, I almost forget how beautiful it actually is. At least," he paused and she could practically hear the smirk in his voice, "Some things never loose that beauty."

"I don't think anything that seems less beautiful just because I see it every day." Sarah contradicted icily, trying to control the sudden, uneven thrumming of her pulse. She wasn't scared of him.

Her turned to face her then, a trace of the smirk still on his lips. "Why ever not?"

Sarah scowled. "I don't know, I just don't." The smirk grew more pronounced.

"Contrarian." He accused.

"I am not!" she disagreed.

"Oh, aren't you?"

"No!" she shook her head, "I'm not!" Jareth laughed and she flushed, realizing her arguing had only served to prove his point.

"I don't see what this has to do with anything." She changed the subject hastily.

"I was merely making polite conversation." He replied condescendingly. "Is that not the proper thing to do?"

"I don't want to talk to you." Sarah grumbled childishly. "You have no power over me."

An emotion flashed in his eye and vanished too quickly for her to determine what it was. "I know." He said curtly and she shivered at the coldness in his voice. There was a long silence and Sarah was determined not to be the first to break it.

"Are you done being childish?" he scowled.

"I am not being childish!" she snapped. "I'm being perfectly reasonable."

"Reasonable." He scoffed. "What reasonable person verbally attacks those making conversation with them?"

"What reasonable person kidnaps unconscious teenagers?" she demanded.

"If you were _reasonable_ you would appreciate being 'kidnapped' from that place." Jareth growled.

Sarah didn't answer. After all, he was right. She was usually happier here than she was anywhere else. Only Jareth made her uncomfortable. It irked her that he seemed to know that.

"Now," he said, somewhat less ill-tempered. "You may be interested to know that there are several individuals waiting for you to come let them in at the gates."

"What?" Sarah asked, completely thrown off track. He inclined his head towards the door and smiled mockingly. Sarah's eyes narrowed and she turned away, flipping her hair impudently. She could have sworn she heard a low chuckle as she made her dramatic exit, but she was determined not to turn around and see.

As soon as the door had clicked shut behind her, Sarah raced down the stairs, eager to see whoever it was that had come to visit her.

She reached the gate in record time and tugged it open. There stood Ludo, Hoggle and Sir Didymus. Sarah beamed and rushed to them.

"Sawa!" exclaimed Ludo, pulling her into a rib-cracking hug.

"My Lady Sarah!" the ever-excitable Didymus cried with a bow.

"How ye holdin' up, Sarah?" asked Hoggle. Sarah replied by making a face.

"I'm so glad to see you guys!" she told them. "But how did you know I had no one to talk to?"

"Why, Lord Jareth sent for us." Didymus explained. "He said you were lonely and we, as gentlemen of this kingdom, could not leave a lady friend in such distress!"

Sarah glowered, missing the last half of the fox-like creature's sentiment. They were, again, back to Jareth. Sneaking, spying, cruel, short-tempered, intelligent, handsome…

She gasped aloud. She _did not_ think that Jareth was intelligent. And definitely not handsome in any way. Those traits did not belong on her mental list. Bad mental list.

"Sarah?" Hoggle broke in hesitantly. "You alright?"

"Fine." she replied automatically. "Just spacing out. Sorry."

The four friends spent the rest of the day wandering the castle grounds and chatting animatedly. Occasionally, Sarah noticed Hoggle scrutinizing her as she spoke, looking at her like he expected something insane from her, but, for the most part, they all enjoyed their time together. It was, then, in a cheerful mood that Sarah accompanied her friends back to the gate as dusk fell. They bid her goodbye, promising to come back soon and then vanished into the gathering twilight.

"Sarah?" Hoggle paused, the other two already all but invisible in the dark, "Don't worry, about _him_, okay? Things'll work out for ya."

Sarah nodded, her good mood somewhat deflated by the subject. Hoggle looked like he wanted to say something else, but he just shook his head and turned to follow the others, leaving her, once again, completely alone.

Sarah trudged back up to the castle, meeting Musa in the entrance hallway. They walked together to the dining room in silence.

"Sorry for abandoning you again." Musa said apologetically as she heaped potatoes onto her plate. For such a tiny creature, she sure had an appetite. "Gremlins in the Labyrinth were attempting to take over parts of the firey territory." she continued. "The Fire Gang wasn't particularly pleased."

"I'll bet." Sarah murmured in agreement, remembering the loud, boisterous and violently orange bird-creatures she had met her first time in the Labyrinth. "Did it get sorted out?"

Musa nodded. "They just needed some diplomacy." she frowned at her plate. "But what about you? How was your day?"

Sarah hesitated momentarily and then came to a decision. "I saw Jareth this morning." she replied, attempting to keep her voice casual. She failed rather miserably.

Musa looked up from the noodles she had been contemplating, surprise and some other emotion that Sarah didn't recognize in her dark silver eyes. "Why?" she asked.

"He wanted to tell me that Hoggle and the others were here." _And to taunt me._ "He sent them to visit me."

"That sounds _so _cruel." Musa said slyly. Sarah shot her a look. It unsettled her how close the sprite's statement had been to her own thoughts.

"I think I'm going to go for a walk." she said, sliding out of her chair. Musa nodded understandingly.

"I'll still be here when you get back." she promised.

Sarah fled the cheerily-lit castle and stumbled out into the blessed darkness. It was cool outside and the sky was velvet-black, smattered with millions of purple-green tinged stars, glittering like diamonds. The moon was suspended among them, giving of a bright milky white glow.

Even in the quiet scenery, Sarah's mind wouldn't slow down. She let a sigh escape her lips and picked out a path with her feet and set to wandering the courtyard.

Musa clearly thought she was attracted to Jareth and even Hoggle looked at her like he was expecting her to say so. But she wasn't! Why would anyone be attracted to such cruelty, anger, unfairness…? Sarah stopped listing his faults in her mind, recalling what had happened earlier in the day.

As her mind spun in answerless circles, a cloud rolled over the full moon, plummeting her suddenly into a much more absolute darkness than before. She heard a low oath, muttered in a very distinctive voice and spun, automatically, towards the source. But the rocks under her feet shifted and she fell, scraping her hands and banging her chin with dizzying force. She heard footsteps but was unable to discern a figure in the blackness. A gentle breeze blew and the cloud shifted, throwing minimal light onto her surroundings.

Dazed, Sarah looked up. Someone was standing over her, though the stars and the crack of moonlight were not enough to throw the face into relief. Whoever it was, bent over Sarah and reached around her head. A sharp, stinging pain in her neck almost brought her out of her stunned state, but then, as a familiar drowsiness stole over her, even the stars blinked out, one by one, until she was alone in complete dark.

**A/N: And it is there I shall leave off, but no worries! I have already begun work on the next chapter! Please leave reviews!**


End file.
